China’s navy deployed a civilian ferry to transport troops and trucks in a test of amphibious warfare skills seen as key to an attack on Taiwan.
State broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday that the Chang Shan Dao ferry transported equipment and personnel between Lushun New Port to the Port of Dalian on the Bohai Sea to develop the troops’ ability to transport supplies at sea.
“This ferry delivery exercise aimed to explore and test the efficiency of the combined forces’ long-distance supply operations, to clear barriers in the joint military-local logistics mechanism, and to optimise coordination,” it said.
The report did not say when the exercise took place, but according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic the Chang Shan Dao sailed between ports in the city of Dalian on July 19.
Amphibious warfare would be central to an attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its territory.
Beijing has never renounced using force to unite the island with mainland China. Most countries do not regard Taiwan as an independent state, but many oppose taking the island by force.
The People’s Liberation Army has been developing a “military-local logistics mechanism” to try to get supplies to front lines more efficiently.
The Chang Shan Dao can carry 1,400 people, has 2km (1.2 miles) of “driveway” for vehicles to park on and has a displacement of 23,000 tonnes, according to its state-owned operator Cosco Shipping Ferry.
The PLA has used civilian ferries built by state-owned enterprises to help it transport supplies in drills in the past.
In 2011, the military used the Bohai Zhen Zhu, or “Bohai Pearl”, to move troops and equipment in a drill, the first time a civilian ship with a displacement of more than 10,000 tonnes had been deployed in such an exercise, a 73rd Group Army officer told state media at the time.
The vessel was operated by Bohai Ferry Group, a company directly owned by the state.
The PLA has also used civilian ferries to move troops, equipment and supplies across greater distances.
According MarineTraffic, the Bohai Jing Zhu ferry diverted from its usual route in the Bohai Sea in September last year, sailing from Lianyungang south of the Shandong peninsula to Nanjing, an inland port.
The Bohai ferry Ji Long Dao also took part in loading military vehicles during a major live-fire drill targeting Taiwan in August 2022, according to a CCTV report. The exercise followed a visit to Taiwan by then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In a report for the US Naval War College in January, Michael Dahm, a retired US Navy commander, said the August drills showed that the PLA had made significant progress in large-scale lift of troops and equipment into undefended ports, which could help it attack Taiwan.
Twelve civilian ferries and cargo ships sailed 82 times between 11 ports in a separate five-week exercise in July-August last year, he said, basing his findings on satellite imagery and ship movements tracked by MarineTraffic.
More than 8,500 military vehicles and 58,000 troops were transported in those drills, he said.
But Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s naval academy, said the PLA’s use of civilian ferries was not necessarily aimed at Taiwan because Beijing also claimed many artificial islands in the South China Sea that could benefit from expanded logistics.
“These drills not only train PLA troops but also the civilian crew of the roll-on/roll-off ships,” he said, referring to vessels designed to carry vehicles with wheels.
He said roll-on/roll-off ferries would already be in position if drafted by the PLA into military action, allowing a quicker start to an operation.
But he said satellite images could not show how far the PLA’s logistical ability had advanced with such drills. Information from state media would conceal weaknesses in the training, he said.
